1. Don’t leave your house hunting until the last minute – Give yourself plenty of time to find a pet-friendly property and begin searching at least 6-8 weeks before you need to move out of your current home.

2. Be as flexible as possible – The more restrictive your search criteria are, the more difficult it will be for you to find a pet-friendly property. Try to be flexible on location and property type as this will increase your chances of finding somewhere for you and your pet to live.

3. Write a CV for your pet – Provide your prospective landlord with as much information about your pet as you can. Write a CV and include contact details for your veterinary practice and for someone who can care for your pet in case of an emergency. You could also include details of your pet’s last vaccinations and any flea and worming treatments they have received.

4. Get a reference for your pet – By providing your landlord with a reference from your previous landlord or your vet, you can show that your pet is both well behaved and capable of living in rented accommodation without causing problems or damage. This will also demonstrate that you are a responsible pet owner.

5. Introduce your pet to your landlord – Meeting your pet in advance may put your landlord’s mind at ease. You could invite your landlord to your current home so that they can see that your pet has caused no problems there. This is particularly important for dogs as it’s an opportunity to show that your dog is calm and well behaved.

6. Offer to pay a higher deposit – Many landlords are concerned about pets causing damage to their property or furnishings. By offering to pay a higher deposit, you will reassure the landlord that you will cover any damage that your pet may cause.

7. Offer to have the property professionally cleaned – Landlords often worry that accepting pets will lead to flea infestations, excess pet hair and dirty carpets and soft furnishings. To put your landlord’s mind at ease you might consider offering to pay for the property to be professionally cleaned when you move out. Some landlords and letting agents may ask for a non-refundable payment in advance to cover the cost of cleaning.

8. Be honest, don’t sneak your pet in without permission – It’s never advisable to keep a pet in a property without the landlord’s consent. This will only lead to problems in the future and could result in the termination of your tenancy. It’s possible that keeping pets in the property may even violate the landlord’s own leasehold agreement. It’s advisable to always be honest about your pets from the start.

9. Get written permission – If your landlord has given you permission to keep a pet in your property, make sure you get it in writing. You should ask for a clause to be added to your tenancy agreement to cover the keeping of pets and make sure that any ‘No Pets’ clauses are removed.  This will prevent problems from arising in future.

10. Raise awareness of Dogs Trust’s Lets With Pets campaign – By spreading the word about our campaign, you can help us to encourage more landlords and letting agents to accept pets.  We have produced a separate booklet for landlords and letting agents which gives help and advice on renting properties to pet owners. For more information, go to www.letswithpets.org.uk.

About Lets with Pets
Dogs Trust’s Lets with Pets campaign aims to help pet owners find privately rented accommodation with their pets. We have put together advice for pet owners on how to find pet-friendly accommodation as well as information for landlords and letting agents on managing properties with pets.

Dogs Trust knows from experience that many pet owners are forced to live in unsuitable properties or keep pets without consent from their landlord. In some cases, owners are even having to give up their pet or else face becoming homeless. A recent survey by Dogs Trust found that:
•    78% of pet owners had experienced difficulties finding privately rented accommodation that allowed pets
•    54% of pet owners were never able to find a suitable property that accepted pets
•    8% of pet owners had to rehome their pet

Dogs Trust is the UK’s largest dog welfare charity and cares for over 16,000 stray and abandoned dogs each year through its 17 rehoming centres. Dogs Trust is working towards the day when all dogs can enjoy a happy life, free from the threat of unnecessary destruction. For more information on Dogs Trust, please go to www.dogstrust.org.uk

Dogs Trust’s Lets with Pets campaign is run by the Outreach Projects team, which deals with issues surrounding pets and housing. The team’s other work includes the Dogs Trust Hope Project, helping dog owners who are homeless or in housing crisis, and the Dogs Trust Freedom Project, a dog fostering project for families fleeing domestic violence in Greater London and Yorkshire. For more information on these projects, please go to www.dogstrusthopeproject.org.uk and www.dogstrustfreedomproject.org.uk

Did you know – More than 1 in 2 households in the UK own a pet (and some are cherished more than children). So by not accepting pets landlords will be potentially missing out on over 50% of the market! I decided that by taking a bigger deposit and guaranteeing certain items such as a steam & de-flea clean on exit, there was a niche market of great tenants and fellow animal lovers!

Petlets.net has been so popular nationally that we get requests for property from all over the UK but sadly only cover the MK area (so far). Consequently we URGENTLY need more landlords to join a Milton Keynes phenomenon!” If you have a property you are thinking of renting or are being unsuccessful letting then Petlets.net might be able to help.

Please visit our website www.petlets.net to learn more about us and join the only Pet friendly letting agents.